Pop Music Analysis:
"It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
by R.E.M.

Copyright (c) 2003 by Paul Nelson, all rights reserved.

Introduction

At the turn of the millennium my family held a big
"Millennium Party" in Hawaii
(my Mom's home) to celebrate. It was a huge week-long bash with over 45 friends
and family from all over the world. As part of the festivities, we invited
everyone to submit their favorite music to create an "end of the
millennium mix CD". The resulting discs (there were 6 of them) contained
music from Handel to Ravel, Cyndi Lauper to U2, and George
Gershwin to Andrew Lloyd Weber.

But easily the most popular song was "It's the
End of the of the World As We Know It (And I Feel
Fine)" by R.E.M. Somehow it just fit the mood of the party perfectly, and
it became something of the theme song for the entire event. And now I can't
help but smile whenever I listen to the song, remembering that great party.

Background on R.E.M. and Document

R.E.M. was formed in the early 1980's by four guys
in their 20's:† Peter Buck, MichealStipe, Mike Mills and
Bill Berry. Early on they were influenced by the New York Punk Rock scene of
the late 1970's, especially Patti Smith and the Velvet Underground. The band
was one of many "Alternative Rock" bands (similar to the trend of
"Independent Films" today) which were formed as an alternative to the
perceived shallow commercialization of Rock Music by the big recording labels.
A similar band in this genre is U2.

Initially, R.E.M. was a typical college band,
playing college campuses giving interviews to college DJs, and producing a new
CD every other year or so. Their breakthrough came with Document in 1987. A top 10 album, it was their first album to go
platinum and they had their first hit single:†
"The One I Love." After Document
R.E.M. transitioned smoothly into the mainstream, signing a record deal with
Warner Brothers (1988), and moving their concerts to larger venues.1

At the time of its release, R.E.M. hailed Document as a major departure, being
more aggressive (previously releases had depended more on setting a mood) and
"modern sounding," with clearer vocals. The intention of Document was to produce a "snapshot
of what we see is going on around usÖ a picture of a chaotic time." The
band was particularly affected by Ronald Reagan's turbulent second term and
especially U.S.
interference in central America (as is evidenced in
the song "Welcome to the Occupation").2

Lyrics

One could write a PhD dissertation on the lyrics for
"It's the End of the World As We Know It".
The words are spit out quickly and rhythmically, with no narrative connection
between phrases. The result is a chaotic sequence of images and ideas that demonstrate
in sound and content the chaos of the times, a "brilliant Gatling-gun litany of cheap clichťs and TV newspeak". 3

As such, any detailed analysis of the lyrics is
probably doomed to fail, and certainly beyond the scope of this paper. But
there are some recognizable themes which seem to run through the song:

The End of
the World† -† Images from the end of the world:† earthquakes, birds, snakes, hurricanes,
fires, population overflow, burning automobiles, geographical motion
(continental drift, mountain ranges lining up)

Cultural
Icons† -† Lenny Bruce, Lester Bangs, Leonard Bernstein,
Leonid Breshnev (according to an anecdote on the internet,
these names come from a dream of Michael Stipe, in
which he attended a party where everyone had the initials 'L.B.') 4

The Vocals

The chaotic images in the lyrics are emphasized by
the delivery of the words, which in the Verse is done in a sharp declamatory
style, staying on pitch but sounding more like speech than song; very like an
excited newscaster delivery. This contrasts dramatically with the Chorus which
is tunefully sung

A couple of other compositional techniques make the
vocal lines especially interesting in the Chorus. First, the primary line
("It's the end of the world as we know it") is sung by two voices in
counterpoint. This is barely distinguishable at first, but becomes clear at 3:00 during a softer acoustic section. Even
more fun, these two voices enter in stretto, with the
second voice entering two beats later, singing the same lyrics.

The chorus also contains a striking counter melody:
"It's time I had some time alone" which is also sung in counterpoint
with two independent lines. The higher, descending version of "It's time I
had some time alone" recall a similar high, text-less background singing
(almost wailing) that occurs at 0:42 and 1:23 during the second and third verses
which, in each case, signal the approach of the cadence.

Harmonies

The song is rooted in 'G' and does not modulate. The
harmonic progression in the Verse is:

G† C† G††
C† G† C† B@†A. 5

The harmonic progression in the chorus is:† G† D†
G† D† Am.

These harmonic progressions are simple but
effective. The less-stable Verse alternates between the tonic and subdominant.
The more-stable Chorus alternates between the tonic and dominant.

Both progressions move to distantly related chords
to announce the end of a section. In the case of the Verse, the chord (B@) is strikingly different, which serves to break up the
tonal center for a moment and provide some relief from the G tonic.

Instrumentation

For R.E.M., part of being an "Alternative"
band was to eschew the flashy and shallow techniques of record companies, not
only in performance and clothing, but also in their choice of instrumentation.
For these reasons they avoid sequencers and synthesizers, preferring instead
basic, performer-driven instruments.

The primary instruments used in "It's the End
of the World As We Know It" are:† electric guitar, electric bass, drum kit, and
four voices. This is augmented with tambourine, piano and acoustic guitar.

The instrumentation is varied throughout, and often
to great affect. The opening snare drum ruffs are a startling kick start to the
work. The guitar chords generally become more present and assertive when
approaching cadences. The tambourine is used for the Chorus.

At 2:56,
just when a lesser song might start to fade away, R.E.M. inserts a striking
guitar feedback effect which serves to clear the air and allows them to extend
the song for another minute. This is followed by a short acoustic section for
contrast, using the acoustic guitar, which then gradually builds up with the
entrance of the electric instruments as the chorus is repeated to the end.

Form

The form of the work is a standard
"Verse-Chorus" form, but with some modifications, short instrumental
breaks, and additional repeats:

[snare
drum] Verse Verse Chorus

Verse Chorus [instrumental]† Chorus

Verse Chorus
[instrumental] Chorus ChorusChorus

Note that the last Verse is the shortest: 13 seconds
instead of 25 seconds, and with the two side-by-side verses at the beginning,
the overall effect is of Verses getting shorter and shorter as the song
continues. This gives the work additional form and helps to propel the motion
to the end.

There are several techniques used to signal the ends
of sections (i.e. the approach of cadences) and which help move the listener
into the next section. These include:

1.Move to distantly related chords:† the use of the B@
chord in the verse and the Am chord in the chorus clearly signal that something
different is coming up.

2.Descending guitar line, used to transition between
sections at 1:08, 2:23, 2:56,
and 3:37.

3.Piano glissando (2:04)
ends an instrumental bridge and moves us into the next repeat of the chorus.

4.Wailing background singing at the end of the second and
third verses (0:42 and 1:23) signal
the end of those two Verses.

Conclusions

For all of the seriousness of the Document album, and for all of the
cynical connotations in the lyrics of "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," the song is still
upbeat and hopeful. Perhaps this is also why the song is used as the final
encore for recent R.E.M. shows.6† It does not feel like the world is
doomed. Rather, it feels like the world is being reborn anew. The world, as we
used to know it, is ending and a new one is rising out of the chaos.

And maybe that's why the song felt so perfect for
the new millennium (and the end of the cold war) and why it speaks so
powerfully to me today. Because despite 9-11 and the Iraq
war, I can't help but feel optimistic about the world and our collective
futures.

4†††† Chris Piuma,
"R.E.M. Lyric Annotations FAQ", in http://www.flim.com,
accessed on 4/22/2003, the
"R.E.M. : Document : Its the End of the World As
We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" section.

5†††† Scott A. Yanoff,
"It's The End Of the World As We Know It (And I
Feel Fine)" guitar tabulation, in http://www.guitaretab.com,
accessed on 4/22/2003.

6†††† Jody Beth Rosen, "LeisureSuit.net
Live: R.E.M.'s 'Up' Tour at JonesBeach", in http://www.leisuresuit.net, accessed on 4/22/2003. This article contains a
fun comment on the song and how it was received in a 1999 concert tour:

[Was the audience] Immature and enthralled? Those came up during the final song
of the encore, "It's The End of the World As We
Know It (And I Feel Fine.)" Anyway, as Stipe
pointed his microphone at the audience during the frenetic, hodgepodge
historical/nonsensical laundry list that is "ITEOTWAWKI (AIFF)," and
thousands of people simultaneously shouted out the punchline-cum-lyric
"Leonard Bernstein!!!", I decided that there
is no more subversive a mainstream rock band than R.E.M.